Tag Archives: Ukraine

MG – The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine

Posted on by
Reply

Marsh, Katherine. The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine. Roaring Brook Press, 2023. 978-1-250-31360-7. 368 p. Grades 6-8.

Flipping between the days of the pandemic in 2020 and the Holodomor in the Ukraine in 1933, this eye-opening historical fiction work tells the story of Matthew, a young man barely tolerating the conditions brought on by COVID days and three cousins from the Ukraine. Matthew’s mother has moved GG, Matthew’s 100-year-old great-grandmother, to their home to protect her health. As a diversion from video games, she encourages her son to help GG sort through the many boxes from storage that GG brings with her. At first reluctantly, then gradually eagerly, Matthew gets to know his immigrant grandmother in a new way, learn about this atrocity that was suppressed in even prestigious newspapers like the New York Times, and form a tighter bond with his journalist father who is seconded to Paris for his work. In each compelling chapter, the reader uncovers the struggles, beliefs, and failures of the girls: Helen, the cousin who lives in a cramped apartment in Brooklyn and is trying to shed light on the Ukrainian famine; Mila, the spoiled daughter of a staunch Stalinist who has grown up believing the doctrine of the Communist Party; and Nadiya, the poor peasant whose family resists the collective farms and suffers terrible consequences. Author Katherine Marsh, whether deliberately or inadvertently, draws similarities between the disinformation prevalent during COVID in contemporary times and the near silence on the Ukrainians’ years of starvation in the early thirties. With the current war in the Ukraine continuing, the reader cannot help but feel sympathetic toward this country that has endured so much.

THOUGHTS: Students having Ukrainian or Russian ancestry will gain the most from this book, but everyone who reads it will know of the Holodomor. (I asked a student whose family came from the Ukraine if she knew about the Holodomor and she immediately said yes, though I just learned about it from this book.) It provokes discussion of perpetuating true information and encourages a stronger discernment of governments and the news they pass on. This title is a springboard for preserving family stories. Matthew’s search for information is contagious, and the action keeps building, but more prolific readers may predict the plot twist before it happens.

Historical Fiction                                          

MG – Crisis in Ukraine (Series NF)

Posted on by
Reply

Crisis in Ukraine. Abdo & Daughters, 2023. $24.95 ea. $99.80 set of 4. 63 p. Grades 5-8.

Britton, Tamara L. War in Ukraine. 978-1-532-19915-8.
Gieseke, Tyler. NATO.  978-1-532-19912-7.
O’Brien, Bridget. Vladimir Putin. 978-1-532-19913-4.
Wheeler, Jill C. Volodymyr Zelensky. 978-1-532-19914-1.

This reviewer evaluated the title Volodymyr Zelensky. As the current president of Ukraine while a war rages within its borders, Volodymyr Zelensky has become known throughout the world. Zelensky is the son of a computer science professor and an engineer. Growing up in Kryvyi Rih in what was then the Ukrainian Society Socialist Republic, Zelensky loved watching K.V.N., a show where contestants compete to be the funniest person. In college, he majored in law at his mother’s request, but he found he could not give up on comedy. He formed Studio Kvartal 95 and developed a show called Evening Quarter, a comedy show similar to America’s Saturday Night Live. A turning point in his acting career was on Servant of the People. The character Zelensky played was a high school history teacher turned politician. This got him more interested in government work. He decided to run for president of Ukraine, running on a platform that promised to eliminate corruption and greed. He won by a landslide. Throughout his presidency, Zelensky’s popularity decreased due to different scandals. But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, Zelensky earned respect for refusing to leave the country while at war. His speeches and social media posts about the war have rallied a nation and inspired them to fight on.

THOUGHTS: This nonfiction is timely and relevant. The text is easy to read and includes photographs and sidebars with more information. Backmatter includes a timeline, glossary, index, and a QR code to online resources.

900s Biography and/or History

YA – Traitor

Posted on by
Reply

McCrina, Amanda. Traitor. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020. 978-0-374-31352-4. 368 p. $18.99. Grades 7-12. 

War is not clean and neat, and McCrina’s Traitor masterfully portrays the emotional and ethical wreckage it causes. The two-pronged storyline begins with Tolya, in July 1944. A young soldier in the Soviet army during World War II, Tolya keeps his head down. With his Ukranian father executed as a traitor, and his mother shot for being Polish, his loyalties do not lie with the Soviets, but he enlisted because he was alone and hungry. When he shoots his unit’s political officer during an assault on a young woman, it’s only a matter of time until the NKVD, the Soviet Secret Police, arrest and shoot him. However, when he is whisked away, it turns out to be an extraction by the Ukranian Insurgent Army, who are looking for a sniper to assassinate a high ranking Soviet officer. The alternate plot line begins in June 1941, following young Ukranian Aleksey who is attempting to break  his Ukranian nationalist hero father out of a Russian controlled Polish prison prior to the arrival of German troops. As life deteriorates in the Polish city, an injured Aleksey and his brother, Mykola, find themselves in the care of the Polish Resistance. Both plotlines highlight the confusing disintegration of loyalties as the Germans advance into Russian territory. While the Russians had allied themselves with the Polish resistance earlier in the war, now they are actively hunting and killing them. Astute readers may pick up on the connection between the two plotlines early in the book; most will unravel it deeper into the story, hindered by the profusion of characters with unfamiliar names. But the ultimate moral of the story is that there are no winners in war. Readers’ hearts will ache for the profound loneliness of both Tolya and Aleksey, as they cannot bring themselves to trust anyone. Ultimately, it seems, everyone’s goal is to just survive. A character list and an outline of military units at the end of the book are extremely useful to readers in keeping the complex stories organized.

THOUGHTS: This outstanding historical fiction story highlights a lesser known corridor of World War II. The era is presented in deeply humanistic terms, highlighting the psychological toll war causes on those caught up against their will. It can be a challenging read with dozens of characters and multiple factions to keep straight, but the reward is magnificent. Hand this stunning book to Alan Gratz fans who are ready for something more mature. 

Historical Fiction          Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

The Winter Horses…new middle level fiction

Posted on by
Reply
winterhorses
Kerr, Philip. The Winter Horses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. 978-0-385-75544-3. $16.99. 278p. Gr. 6-8.
During the summer of 1941, Maxim Melnik cared for the animals on the Askaniya-Nova animal sanctuary located in the Ukraine, but the Przewalski horses fascinated him more than any other.  Warned of the sinister Nazi invasion and indisputable takeover of the reserve by the senior manager, Max held his ground assuming the Germans couldn’t be any worse than the Russians.  To his utter disbelief, they proved him wrong when their first order of business was to begin shooting the animals to feed their troops.  On the other side of the reserve, a young, orphaned Jewish girl meanders across the rugged steppe in search of food and shelter, trying to stay clear of any Nazis.  She stumbles upon two horses who see in her a comparable ally.  Max shortly discovers this unlikely trio and unconsciously vows to protect Kalinka and the last two Przewalski horses no matter the risk.  When Captain Grenzmann uncovers Kalinka’s hiding place, Max tries stalling to give Kalinka and the horses a head start.  Only the cunning intelligence of the Przewalski breed will outsmart the Nazis who are pursuing them across the Ukrainian wilderness.
The history of the Przewalski horses is extremely interesting.  They date back tens of thousands of years and are even pictured in the prehistoric paintings of Paleolithic men.  At the end of World War II, nine horses remained.  Protected and cared for, their number has grown to approximately 1500.  Kerr has added a fantastical element to her story and allows the reader to determine where the legend ends and history begins.
Historical Fiction       Christine Massey, JWP Middle School